What Is Encryption?

Encryption is a process that encodes information so that it is unreadable unless decrypted by someone with knowledge of the decryption key. Encryption can be as simple as changing letters around to adding advanced computer algorithms that need a key to be deciphered. The actual encrypted message is referred to as “plain text” while the message in its indecipherable form is referred to as “cipher text.”

Importance of Data Encryption and how it works

Data encryption works in the same way that a key works with a lock. When someone wants to break into a building, an effective door and locking system can be a great deterrent. With a key, entry is as simple as putting it in and twisting. But a person without a key must find a different way into the building.

With data encryption, the decrypting key is vital. The person with this key is the person who is supposed to be able to unlock the meaning of the text. For an example of how encryption works, take the word credit. To encrypt the word credit, you could use a simple replacement code. The letters “ikpqvb” could be the encryption used. The problem with this is that a simple replacement code is too simple for other computers since there are only 26 possibilities that each letter could be.

To make this code more difficult to crack, coders began using a shifted alphabet so that rather than 26 possibilities for each letter, there could be hundreds or thousands of possibilities. The key would be made based on each letter being given a numeric value. This worked well until computer programmers caught on and figured out how to crack these codes as well.

In the digital age, these encryptions continually grow in their randomness and effectiveness. With numeric binary code, rather than letters and cryptographic algorithms coming into play, information can be kept very safe. As you can tell, however, it is vital that the encryption stays ahead of a hacker’s ability to break a code.

Encryption helps you meet regulations

Cardholder data and personal information have always been protected, but laws are getting more stringent every year. As the world becomes increasingly digital, new regulations are needed to keep up with the trend. While not all standards mandate encryption, including encryption security as part of a multi-pronged approach to processing payments securely and following PCI DSS Standards is the best strategy for keeping information private.

Encryption provides confidence that your cardholder data is safe

Working with a solution provider that leverages encryption to protect cardholder data is a great way to protect yourself and your clients. Payment solutions that leverage encrypted point-of-interaction devices and secure software of a service shields the solution provider and merchants from handling clear text cardholder data. This can greatly reduce the scope and complexity of a PCI-DSS assessment.